Maple Stories, pt 1
by Virgil Diablo
Summary: The next fivechapter installment of Maple Stories.
1. Chapter 1

Maple Chronicles

Prologue, of three parts.

Please note that this is entirely a work of fiction. Any similarity to any person or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidence and unintentional.

Chapter 1

Amber looked at him with a cocked eye and a disappointed look on her face. She was hoping it would be a big secret, that only her and Virgil would be in on.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me, nothing really important?" she laughed.

Virgil had a surprised look on his face. Had she found out? _No,_ he thought, _or else she wouldn't have been so joking. I'm safe. For now. Or at least until I can really tell her how I feel..._

He opened his mouth to talk, but nothing came out. He was still a bit nervous from before. He swallowed hard and tried again. "Ye-- Yeah." _Oh man, I wish I could just tell her. I do't care what she would think, I just want to let her know. That's it. I'm telling her right now_. "Amber, listen--"

"Ooh, hold that thought," she said. "Watch this." She reached into her traveling bag and pulled out ger staff. "Ok, you ready?" Virgil nodded. "Ok, she said. Here goes nothing..." She closed her eyes, and concentrated for a minute. All of a sudden, she was gone. Virgil stared in disbelief.

"Amber? Amber? Oh hell, where'd you go?" He had a worried look on his face, but never thought to turn around. She poked him on the shoulder, and he nearly jumped out of his traditional graduation Qi Pao.

"Boo," she whispered. Virgil stopped and turned around on a dime, and there she was, looking no different."

"How the hell did you do that? Wait, what the hell just happened?"

Amber smiled, and said, "It's something my trainer tought me before we left. It's a teleport skill. I'm still working on it, and my mana flowing through the staff is getting weaker too, but if it was at a decent level, I could've teleported our of the ship. Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

_Dammit, it never fails... oh well, I guess when I'm in a mood to be impressed, I'll just tell her then. _"Oh, err-- nothing. I forgot, usually teleportation becomes my mind number one priority when I see it."

"Aww, I'm sorry, I guess I should've given you fair warning." She looked out the cabin window. "Oh, it's getting late, now that I mention it, I am getting a bit tired, I guess I better get ready for bed," She yawned.

Virgil looked out he window at the star bathed clouds, and then back at Amber. She was dressng out of her lightweight training gear. Her long, flowing, brown, silky hair flowed down the back of her body, as she removed her gear. Virgil was actually quite impressed at the amount of gear she was wearing,a brown padded overall, plus a tank top and pants that resembled pajama bottoms, and her underwear. Virgil realized that she was only in her underwear, and looked back torwards the window, tring to make it look like he was concentrating on something. He could feel his cheeks flush. After a minute or so, he glanced bck at her, already in her pajamas, hips on her side, with a humored look on her face. "Dont hide it," she said. "You were watching me undress, weren't you?"

"I--err, no-- I mean--" Virgil stuttered.

"Hmm, at least I had my back to you, nothing like pretty young busty girl to keep you awake all night, eh?" Virgil had a dumbfounded look on his face. _If you only knew..._

"Relax, I'm only kidding," she said. She walked over to him and gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks again for today."

_Oy, it's going to be a looong journey..._


	2. Chapter 2

Maple Chronicles

Part 1 of three parts.

Please note that this is entirely a work of fiction. Any similarity to any person or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidence and unintentional.

Chapter 2

The next morning, the two travelers awoke to a new sight. A huge port city much like Southperry, but much larger. Virgil and Amber got dressed, packed their bags, grabbed their weapons, and trudged off the ship. They looked around the great city with awe in their eyes. They stopped at the potion shop for provisions for their journey, and upon walking out, they were stopped by a large, muscular man in green Vinnish armor.

"Now, wait just a minute! Where do ya think yer goin'?" he said.

"We're heading torwards Ellenia, and then Kerning City, so we can become official Defenders!" Amber chimed up.

"Well, not without my say. I'm the one who let's young trainees like you become Defenders, don't you know?" The strange man said.

"What... are you talking about? We already finished our training, we're eligible for our jobs! Now please move out of our way, so we can proceed," Virgil commanded.

"But don't you know who I am? I'm Olaf, the legendary crusader from El Nath in Ossyria, I am! I also issue beginners their missions before they can become true defenders." He said.

Virgil looked at him with a questioning eye. "If you're so 'legendary', then why haven't I heard of you. You know what, I don't care. Just issue us our missions so we can leave."

"Well, first, give me your weapons." Virgil and Amber did so. "Hmm, an ancient Garnier? I think not! Dull blunt Subis? No no, this won't do at all. Here: a Bronze Igor, and three sets of Wolbis. Now for you, Amber was it? Hmm, this staff is losing all it's mana from your excessive training... I know!" He pulled a strange vial of blue liquid from his pocket, and a small steel-and-crystal wand, and poured the liquid over it. "There we go, a true wand, fit for a true future-cleric. Now you are dismissed. Oh wait, before I forget, take these badges. They each have the sign of the town in which you must travel to in order to become Defenders. Amber, you go to Ellinia. Virgil, you go to Kerning City. Also, here's two maps, two communicators, and two scrolls. The maps and communicators speak for themselves, but the scrolls are different; you must use them only in an extreme situation that threatens your life. It will transport you back here to Lith Harbor. Now go, you are ready."

_Jeez, what's _with_ this guy? _Virgil though to himself. "Err, thanks. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but we must go now." Virgil and Amber set out torwards the edge of town, where the sidewalk ends and the danger begins...

Yeah, yeah, short chapter, sorry, but I may be able to get the next one up later tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

Maple Chronicles

Part 1 of three parts.

Please note that this is entirely a work of fiction. Any similarity to any person or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidence and unintentional.

Chapter 3

"Man, what was his deal?" Amber asked.

"I don't know, but he was pretty strange, but you can't expect Elnathians to be normal," Virgil laughed.

"True, true. So anyway, where do we go now?" Amber asked.

"Well, according to this map, we could go through the maze known as 'L Forest' to Kerning City, or we could blow through Henesys, and then to Ellinia. I think this route will be much quicker," Virgil said as he pointed to Henesys.

"Henesys it is," Amber said.

The two travelers felt they were near Henesys, they could hear the hustle and bustle of the markets. Right before they got there, they saw a sign that ad a picture of a snail and read, "Henesys Hunting Ground, area I." Someone scribbled below it crudely, "NO MOB KILLERS". They looked up, and saw snails, mushrooms and slimes as far as the eye could see.

"Are you sure this is the Henesys Hunting Ground we were told about?" Amber asked.

"Hmm, it looks like it, but I don't see anybody killing any of the monsters. Strange..." Virgil commented. " I guess if no one's here to kill them, then we have it all to ourselves," he said.

"You go ahead," said Amber. I'm going to the market to buy some potions, okay?" she asked.

Yeah, fine," Virgil said. "Just make sure you hurry back, I want to share the bounty," he said.

As Virgil started training, Amber walked to Henesys. As she entered, she noticed how many people there was for such a small town in the woods. An old abandoned shed with hales of bay next to it seemed to be overpopulated; people selling weapon scrolls, random monster parts, ores etc. As she entered the technical market, she noticed people walking in and out of a large portal 25 meters away. Some, she observed, walked in with weapons and items, and out with mesos, and vice-versa. She brushed past the huge crowd of incomers and outcomers by the large portal, and walked to the potion shop, and stepped inside. It smelled of the foul-yet-sweet smell of herbs and ginseng. She walked to the counter.

"Can I help you?" said the lady behind the counter.

" Yes, I need 50 vials of orange root, 15 vials of speed root, and 20 vials of blue root," Amber listed.

"Just one moment," said the lady. She dug behind the counter, and ultimately in the back room of the store, and walked out with a large bag full of glass vials filled with powdered roots of various potions. She laid them on the counter. "5000 mesos please," she said.

Amber pulled a piece of paper, a 5k mesos paper note, and handed it to the saleswoman, and took the potions. _I wonder how Virgil's doing right now..._ she thought.

Unbeknownst to Amber, Virgil needed those potions more than he first thought. Fifteen minutes, fifty monsters, and 10 potions later, a large shadow drifted over him. _Hmm..._ ,he thought, _it sure got dark fast..._ He heard a low rumbling growl and the blood running through his veins became ice cold. He shakily turned around, at first to what seemed like a giant rock, but then he realized it to be a Stone Golem. "Oh hell no!" Virgil yelled as the behemoth's giant fists came crashing down like... well, a ton of rocks. Fortunately, Virgil leapt into the air at the last minute, and sent three wolbis flying torwards the golem's head, or what he interpreted it to be. _This must be why there's no one here today, because of this pile rubble, _he thought to himself. The wolbis connected, but shattered on impact. At a loss of ideas, he soared up the rope ladder to a safe distance to think. There was two things he could do: He could run like hell, or stay here, and recieve the ultimate training. Of course, he chose to get a lot of experience by shattering this boulder, instead of logically running away. He tried wolbis again, to the same effect: they bounced off and shattered upon his rocky body. _What now? He's a friggin' rock, and all I have are thin pieces of metal? Agh, why couldn't I have learned any other skills? _And then he remembered: Disorder, One of the first skills he learned, a useless one he always thought, but now it would be different. Now it would save his life. He jumped off the cliff ledge and down to the golem's level. The golem sent his right hand flying straight torwards Virgil. He jumped, and ran up his arm, to his head. He was within striking distance when the golem's left hand connected with Virgil's ribs and torso with a shattering blow, and sent him flying torwards a wall; leaving a diagonal slash of blood on the golem's torso. _ Oh no, _he thought, _I cant die yet. I made a promise. I promised peace to Maple Island, I promised myself not to ever give up. I made a promise to Amber..._ Just then he remembered a beginner-level skill, antoher really simple one. Recover. He concentrated and closed his eyes, and focused on healing himself. All of a sudden, air escaped his body, and then refilled his lungs It had worked. Not only had his physical condition been restpred, but his coordinition was tweaked too. He hit the wall feet first, bending his legs to lessen the impact, and then sprung off the cliff wall, soaring torwards the golem. _This is it, _he thought,_ life or death. Succeed or fail. Live or die. _ If the golem decided to use him as batting practice, and connected, Virgil would be nothing more than a red, goopy puddle. He had to dodge it. No time for thinking, just doing. Unsurprisingly, the golem took a swing at Virgil, however, Virgil dodged the blow, used his arm as a springboard, and leapt into the air. He charged up a Disorder, gripped his Igor, and thrust his knuckles downwards. All of a sudden, there was a huge vibration in his Claw. He connected. The golem couldn't attack or move, as well as defend. The disorder ran through his rocky body, preventing movement. Virgil jumped off the golem, grabbed four wolbis, and sent them flying torwards the golem's tiny knee area. The wolbis sliced right through the thin rock, and the immobile golem capsized and disassembled. _I did it, _ he thought, _ I actually did it. I destroyed-- no, annihilated a golem. Me. a Claw Thief-- _His thoughts were interrupted by sounds of sorrow and relief. He turned around. and saw Amber, mouth ajar, potions on the ground. She ran torwards what she'd just witnessed, and saw what was now a bunch of white rocks, with a red streak here and there. Virgil reacjed down and picked one up, and put it in his bag. Amber was still in shock.

"Wait a minute, did you just kill a Stone Golem? One with intention to kill you?" She asked.

"Yes," Virgil said, with pained breaths.

"Your breathing, it's so shallow and forced, hang on, I'm going to go get a doctor, stay right here," she commanded. Virgil was sitting on bales of hay, breathing heavy, laughing, or as close to it as possible. He flicked a wolbi torwards a slime and watched it separate.

"For now on," he said. "I'm sticking to you guys."


End file.
